Hoyer: Republicans Should Stop Standing in the Way of Renewable Energy Tax Credits

WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) issued the following statement today after 51 state governors released a letter calling for the extension of renewable energy tax credits:

“Today, leaders of Congress received a letter signed by a bipartisan group of 51 state governors, urging us to extend tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency. ‘Extending tax incentives for energy efficiency and conservation,’ the governors wrote, ‘will slow the growth of future energy needs, minimize ratepayers costs, and lessen potential environmental impacts.’

“I couldn’t agree more. Alternative energy may not end the pain of $4 a gallon gas in the short term—but it is the only long-term solution to our energy crisis. And in the meantime, clean energy tax credits will create tens of thousands of American jobs.

“Republicans claim that they want to boost our economy out of this recession, and that they support an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy policy. So I find it baffling that Republicans in the Senate are standing in the way of America’s governors, business leaders, and a bipartisan majority in the House to obstruct the vital tax extenders bill. Senate Republicans should join Democrats and this vast array of groups on both sides of the aisle who believe that we should pay for the tax extenders bill rather than simply driving this nation further into debt.”